Telegram-herald., 1887-10-17
MEXICAN TELEGRAPH
Cestis staoseerl 2fss2 "a fVies ssa Wares
tAe8sFsassiens ~ tases1s'stla "a t.&seh~
x1os tSThsr ER~uslss tseslz<s ssR
Service ia ths Aok L4eAs


Izss tbs laad = 6recian fasle, Mes'cs Is
pAr43 - Ers ~sf 1re. EheIe ere at Ieass
iiss- d.s1is.. cl.nziss- taAt II Iae 4lerrs
IRA. os CD f&ls8 ~ Ia fhs nleani2ans,
tbas q the Issna 1emF1a.is, Tenrer4..
Land. 90 the P,ztssa. aaa exteaa4Ug aewa
tie slol~ toward tL4s eeasi = fe~ saofs nsise-.
sa&, lastly tl4i ef ias Terra Csliss.s, So
Hot l.4ila ~hlca Taxa ia tae osssl ee tbs
faeite aAa allanie ss1ss VITA si>s saa.s ~
tAe sleltns country
IAs iierta deniflass Is. a. lAs norsA o. TIE
eo4ElEy. chsFst tsFlzs1 - F4st tleel
 pains.
os~F ~nich m..st oe h4ulel by fali~as 81 Il
osgS where tie sa3l~sY does nol pesaeirA1s.
tas poles aad wire fol ghe lines. oftenrmes
great loads u poles cut IA the forests arouad
IolacN o. Paizcasso. la ths southern part q
ths repablic. have a. te slowly snd labor
ioasly hauled over TIE hot plains II Chlhas
hua ami pat IN place b. mea who carry their
rations for Gays wlsh th,sIn The coSt 81 tie
poles aa1 the wife ls necessarily greatly en-
hanced by the transportation, and II NAV ie
said TIA. telegraph wire, placed almost alss
where IN Mexico. costs the government tbre~
tInses what II did landed al Vera Cruz o.
faso de- Aorte.
Travellers on borsehack In northern Mexico
trayefs.ng these vast tfse-sss and melancholy
plains stop a, night for camp and, ondiug the
telegraph poles accessible and admirably sea
soned. Gus them down for nfewood- And IDS
j. not all The humble raacheTo, desiring
stock OF wire with which 10 fence "a an III
closure, goes with has peon servants and cuts
down ms or tao for Use, leaving plles
oftentmss rlusifate 1 have myself seen
I poles wireless. and also long stretches II nlge
without poses
n0NEvCoNBIgC THE POLES
Aud the poles bsoagnt 50 Gar at 50 great sn
expense have other enemies besides MAG.
There Is the Insignificant looking worm. the
"jensen, which iasld.oasiy honeycoinls ins
poles I'll! slGns nae dsy they ia,l a. ihs breath
of a bnssze STRIVING fragments Of wood over
! tbs srotra This is q iorfnidshie opponent
: of tgles;aph IA Mexico, and
any orlgLi American who can show how 10
/ keep it out Of tie poles may fairly demand q
/ reUari frm tae Mexican government
- los pajaros son enenigos tSmhen' AID
the birds also enemies. There Is Me1i-
T can wooipeoksr who sit- 40 toward the tons
OF the poles and pecks and pecAs and pecks
Tor whole days. I'll the top comes OF, AID
+ wires and crcss arms 20, too A great
rogue is tins Mexican woodpecker. the sworn
enemy Of telegraph poles. The hnemea
i (ceisdores) shoot him when thev can buI of
what use. One dies and forty come after the
{ funeral
And then the white ante. those industrious,
unseen followers out OF timber. These tiny
/ creatures will eat out tue inside of pole till
/ II is "a mere shell, solid apparently, sturdy
seemingly. but absolutely as good for nothing
as an eggshell Up comes the wind, and the
( poles blow away as il they were horaeis
nests detached by a cyclone. These "horni-
/
I bers in some parts Of the country. They have
even been known TO SO hollow out the legs OF
dining table that one day down II came
! with all its crcckerv and the MONDAY mesl,
too. The hormiga blanca Is also the sworn
+ enemy Of civilization and progress as repre-
sented by the telegraph
But the Hot Land has its enemies of teeg-
raphy also. How Mayne Reid. or Ballan-
! tyne or Verne would have seized the facts
here presented. Picture TO yourselves, good
friends on seaside piazzas or lounging on
mountain tops this summer day, country Of
impenetrable vegetation. with gigantic palms
ana pantains, with jungles dense that It is
+ hard work with stout and sharp machete 10
make patn through them, country OF IN
tense beat, OF innumerahle musquitoes and
/ ticks, and malaria. and snakes, and vegeta-
ton that grows up in day 10 n height shst
{ llIfTlCTcS VIII the moor OF HlhI.
FIGHTING OFF TIE PUMA
/ Such ale some parts Of the Mexican states
; OF Tabasco and Yncatan. and il IS through
such regions that the telegraph whicRcon-
meets the Mexican capital with important
points like San Juan Baptista or San Cris-
! tobal must penetrate This is country
where the linemen so in couples. and armed
with rifles To fight off the fierce puma, or
I hos - nr
) is especially ravenous for telegraph con-
struct0rs, The Mexican linemen down in the
i hot coast country shoot many a psma while
ont attending 70 their lines.
A scarcely less formidable antagonist is
J found in the monkey tribe who inhabit the
juugles and chaparrai o. TabaSco Literally
the woods are full Of them" Their favor
7 tie diversion, when not IN quest o. food, Is 20
betake themselves 10 the telegraph line for
gymnastis exercises, and lnemen assert that
often l0v able bodied monkeys may be seen
swinging on the wire. festooned, monkey
/ fashion, by looping their tails. The con-
tinuous vibration OF these forest gynnssts
starts the iron nails used on the cross arms.
and these often come down, bringing the wire
/ with them
And II is not a safe matter n undertake %
| disperse these robust monkeys who play the
| GlCkeTe Win tHS 0t~Ai"tI stHr- III ~
| sparseIv inhabited state Of Tsbasco. Linemen
| have found that on shooting a monkey swing
ing on the wire they have been pursued by
whole res iment Of monkeys, who, v lth stones
and nuts. have pelted them severely. IL .
+ no Joke mo % hromsl. said lneman re-
Gently. TO have a tribe II monkeys pursue
one, they are very strong ln1uy fuertes and
can bit with stone or a STICK in . fashion n
make a man howl with pain. thing the
/ monkeys enjoy hugely"
IN the coast coanfTy. especially Oh The gulf
( Of Mexico side. the wires. from tie humid
. condition of t.se air. oxi3ize rapidly. sn6
/ Nira is found bv eSperience 20 re IN reei r.
I replacement IN q years time. This sdds
heavily 70 the cos. = keeping ~ fae esrrice.
Sn another Tcsltv ~ nisiufe nife e
+ good service IN TIE Hof Land states is the ini-
( ross hilifv 20 acr mating in raHv regions.
telegraph operators from the cyfsr taois
( lsnds They a. iv fag pTar e. fersrs. ard.
u thev srspe with tbeir lives. tasF bare
heen absent from their posss sn1 ire service
. has ssiIs see. sC it Eas aefn io1nc feesssssrT
I - maze use 1f natives of tsCs@ faeors. oftfn
in.sssrfeetly e5ncsfea. sD5 from rhoE1 raleh
/ r-.ss+ - btrne. rerfar-s fo- fbey make aun.
GERS Nth fatal facility and fIT tts rsi3sros
/ II TIE Cits ~ Mexico ,fs>isis - sl~rrse -
: Freler7e 2 6aernssv ie Bas1s Hefs8
Elsctrfe Eal1vsT Sr.f~ws-
Twsfes nIse q s'ertri- rn1 vsr ~ -